THE FARM.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIII, Issue 2560, 7 January 1892, Page 2

THE FARM.

ASHBURTON SALEYARDS COMPANY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir.—lt is now, I think, over ten years since the above company came into existence, and up to very lately their mode of management seems to have given general satisfaction to the stock dealing public. Dealers m sheep are now, however, beginning to think that some alteration bj' way of reduction, might be made m the charges on store sheep when yarded for sale, without materially lessening the profits of the Company, The idea is that lower charges would encourage the bring, ing forward of a greatly increased number of sheep to theyards, as it is well-known that to avoid the yard charges, every one who can sell privately outsideis nowdoingit. It is, with good reason, believed, that the extra number of entries the Company would get, would make up for any loss m revenue incident upon the lowering of their scale of charges, A shilling a score, (the present rate), would not be so much out of the way if vendors could always be able to sell at f. profit; but this they cannot do, and the consequence is they must take their sheep out again. As matters now stand, a vendor having to remove, say, 1000 sheep out of the yards unsold, has to pay £2 10s yard fees, the same as if he had sold $hem j now undtsr tho circumstances, I contend this charge }s double wl * it ought fco be. tJut, at the same time, I admit chat every on« conversant with the business will understand that it would be impossible for the Company to discriminate between the straightforward man and others of a less scrupulous nature, who would only yard their sheep }n order to find gut their, market value, and then take and sell them outside, to save yard fees. I would therefore respectfully suggest that the company take into consideration the advisableness of making a, reduction on all lines of sheep exceeding, say 200 m number, and I believe that m the long run they would gain considerably by doing so. The company, at present, charges a shilling a score or under. This is all right, because a whole pen may be occupied by less than half a dozen sheep ; but Avhen twenty or more scores are sold m a line, and, say, there may b,e three odd sheep over the exa^ qaoveq, to charge a shilling fqr. t^oni is yery illiberal. T-iiey oi^ght only be 'charged at the rate of \\ shilling per score. On behalf of the Company we must, however, ftdmjt th,a,t all things connected with the receiving, sale, and delivery of stock, are conducted m the best possible manner, and that it "would be very hard indeed to find more oivil and obliging caretakers them Messrs Tippett and Littlecott. Then, lastly, though by no means least m importance, wo have to thank the Company for letting their refreshment rooms to such competent people as the Kellers. It is a. marvel howMrs Keller, whq i§ obliged to pack and oniivey '^e,r. good"' to the yards every Tuesday mornmg, let the weather be hot es'coty'w^ wcU'ii <$ft gupply us with

such an excellent lunch--fi)ir Is 6d, including as it does, beer, or from one to three cups of tea if asked for. Trusting that others engaged m stock dealing may favor us at an early date with their viewo on the subject of yard charges through the medium of your much read paper — I I am etc., I). OIIVEB. I Chelmsford, January 4, 1892. John C. 'Morton, m his Cyclopedia of Agriculture, says that by liming land you cause the clovers and fine grasses to grow stronger each year till they cover the whole of the ground. Au English paper says that if two lots of horses are *ted respectively on large oats grown on rich land, and- on smallgrained oats grown on poorer land, the latter will be found to produce the most energy. ,

The following quotation from the seed circular of one of the largest establishments at Home, dated October, will show that farmers who have ryegrass seed this season have excellent prospects for its disposal:—"Ryegrass Perennial. — The crop is now all out of farmers' hands, and the yield has turned out rather shorter than anticipated, With no stocks held over, we expect to see a brisk trade during the spring at advancing prices, as all the seed will be required for the season's trade. Present quotations : — Fine, per bushel, 4s to 4s 6d ; Pacey's, fine, per bushel, 4s 9d to 5s 6(?."

In many parts of England, especially near to large cities and towns, wheat straw is worth £3 a con. In'other wheat ■ growing areas, not so favourably situated, ie is hardly worth anything at all. It may even be a source of danger, and is, therefore, got rid of by burning, as m many parts of the colonies. - It has recently been discovered, however, that farmers and wheat cultivators " up-country " can turn it to better advantage. In the United States the farmers have found out how to make " straw roads." Those already made are pronounced excellent. They take the straw after thrashing and scatter it over the roads. After a while, when it is settled down, the straw makes the road like papier-mache, and ifc is smooth and dustless. H<jre is a hint for road boards and county councils.

We are sorry to hear that the bot or gad fly has again made its appearance. Last summer, it will be remembered, it caused more than a little suffering to horses and loss to their owners, and this season the flies appear to be far more numerous and, consequently, the need for precaution is greater. Washing the horses uader the jaws and down the throat (outside of course) with a carbolic wash, or diluted Little's dip, or turpentine, .keeps off the pest and also destroys any eggs which may have been deposited previous to or m the intervals between the washings. A Chertsey farmer has adopted the plan of protecting his horses' necks with a strip of calico and finds it to answer well. During the summer months the head, neck, shoulders and forelegs of horses should be frequently examined, and if necessary a more powerful insecticide applied to affected parts.

In a recent speech Lord Salisbury said: —I see Mr Morley raised it as a great reproach against our party that we are not able to do anything to remedy the agricultural depression, a»id he reproaches us because we have no legislation to prevent the thistle-down growing m Esfeex and Suffolk, where golden grain ought to grow. Mr Morley is too exacting. Of coarse, if we had an unlimited license as to legislation 1 have no doubt that we could correct that evil at once. That evil could be corrected by a measure which ;I should not recommend to y&u, and which you would not accept at my hands. But undoubtedly the fact that land that formerly grew corn m Essex and m Suffolk is now abandoned to thistle-down is due to nothing else than that you have withdrawn the protection under which that land formerly grew wheat. Sou have abundant compensation for that. Freetrade has been a most admirable and m the main successful policy. But you must take it with its disadvantages, and one of its disadvantages is that the less fertile districts m this country will no longer grow corn to profit. Nowhere m the world will you find any region that grows corn to profit without protection which is> situated m the fifty-seoond degree of latitude. That those countries were formerly great corn countries are due to the policy of protection with its evils. The policy has been repealed. The improvement of rapid communication has brougho freetrade into its full exercise, and the result is that the less fertile lands have been thrown out of cultivation, and where they are situated on the dry parts of the island, where grain crops cannot be profitably grown, ne3essarily a good deal is not cultivated at all. But it is absurd to imagine that you can correct that defect without abandoning the great policy to which you are all attached.